A's Henry Bolte showing Cardinals he is ready for big leagues

Henry Bolte was on a tear before the Athletics promoted him to the major leagues, so it makes sense that he replicated his recent feats in his first big league game.

Bolte wasn't retired in his debut on Wednesday, and he will look to continue his torrid batting when the Athletics face the St. Louis Cardinals on Thursday afternoon in the finale of a three-game series in West Sacramento, Calif.

Bolte, 22, hit .737 (14-for-19) in his final four games at Triple-A Las Vegas, including back-to-back 5-for-5 outings last Friday and Saturday as part of a string of 12 consecutive hits.

On Wednesday for the A's, Bolte batted fifth and played center field. He went 2-for-2 with a walk and a run-scoring sacrifice fly, and he made a diving catch in a 6-2 victory over the Cardinals.

"It's a little surreal," Bolte said after his debut. "This is what I've dreamt of since I was a little kid. So I'm just happy to be here. This was unbelievable."

Bolte was a big A's fan growing up.

After starring at Palo Alto High in the Bay Area, Bolte was a second-round pick in 2022 by the Athletics. He is rated as the franchise's No. 5 prospect by MLB Pipeline.

He certainly lived up to the billing in Las Vegas, as he was batting .348 with 12 homers, 28 RBIs and 17 stolen bases in 37 games.

"I think (Bolte) showed all the tools he brings in the bag," A's manager Mark Kotsay said. "One of his first two hits was a grounder with impressive speed. ... And along the way he adorns himself with a tremendous play."

Perhaps the only bigger difference-maker than Bolte was first baseman Nick Kurtz, who smacked his third career grand slam in the fifth inning.

Kurtz also doubled as he extended his streak of reaching base to 36 games to help the A's even the series at one win apiece.

Meanwhile, the Cardinals lost for the third time in the past four games.

Alec Burleson recorded three of St. Louis' 13 hits, but the Cardinals were just 1-for-9 with runners in scoring position.

St. Louis manager Oliver Marmol implied his team was its own worst enemy.

"This is one of the first games where I felt we actually handed them the game rather than them beating us," Marmol said. "We had opportunities, we created a ton of them and didn't cash in and then made some mistakes on the bases that cost us."

St. Louis catcher Pedro Pages hit a bloop single in the seventh to end a career-worst streak of 22 hitless at-bats. He is 2-for-26 (.077) in May.

Right-hander Michael McGreevy (3-2, 2.18 ERA) will take the mound for the Cardinals in the finale against Athletics left-hander Jacob Lopez (3-2, 6.11).

McGreevy, 25, has allowed just 29 hits in 45 1/3 innings this season. He has given up one run in 18 innings over his past three starts.

The first-round pick in 2021 out of UC Santa Barbara tossed six shutout innings in each of his past two outings, winning both while giving up just four hits, including only one in a 6-0 win over the San Diego Padres last Friday.

Lopez, 28, defeated the Baltimore Orioles 4-3 on Friday in his most recent outing. He gave up two runs (both on solo homers) and three hits over 5 1/3 innings.

The effort marked the third time Lopez worked 5 1/3 innings this season. He is 2-1 in those starts.

This will be the first time either Lopez or McGreevy will pitch against their Thursday opponent.

--Field Level Media